1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pouring method and a pouring plant of the kind in which mold sections are fabricated, each having a cavity at two opposite ends, the mold sections forming a series or line of mold sections such that said mold sections are in mutual contact at said ends, whereby the mold sections define in respective contact regions mold cavities that have an exposed pour cup. A last fabricated mold section is advanced into contact with the line of preceding mold sections and continues to be advanced, with the line of preceding mold sections, through a distance that corresponds to the length of a mold section. The line of mold sections is led through a pouring station that includes a pouring machine that can be moved in the direction of the line. The position of the pouring machine is corrected in the longitudinal direction of the line so as to align the machine with the position of the pour cup subsequent to moving the line of mold sections, during which movement the upstream end of the last mold section in the line is moved to a predetermined position. A plant for producing such molds includes a machine for fabricating mold sections, means for producing the line or series of mold sections, drive means operable to advance the last fabricated mold section into contact with the line of preceding mold sections and to continue to advance the line of mold sections, a pouring station with pouring machine, and means for correcting the position of the pouring machine so as to align the pouring machine with the position of the pour cup in the pouring station.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pouring technique of the kind to which the invention pertains is disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,894. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,894, parallelepipedic mold sections are fabricated from mold sand. Cavities are therewith formed at the front and the rear ends of the mold sections. The mold sections are combined to form a series or line, wherein a poured mold is formed between each pair of mutually adjacent mold sections in said series or line. There is also established a pour cup which receives the molten metal to be cast in the mold. The line of mold sections is advanced incrementally by means of a ram that has a predetermined end position. The line of mold sections extends through a pouring station which includes a pouring machine. The pouring machine is movable in the longitudinal direction of the line of mold sections. A non-contact sensor, for instance, in the pouring station senses whether or not the pour cup is positioned properly in relation to the pouring machine when the line advancing ram is located in its forward end position. If alignment is incorrect, the pouring machine is moved to a correct position in relation to the pour cup prior to commencing pouring. In order to shorten the pouring cycle, the sensing means is operable for sensing the edge of the pour cup during forward driving movement of the ram. When the cup edge is sensed, the remainder of the distance to be moved by the ram is evaluated and the anticipated position of the next pour cup to arrive at the pouring station is calculated on the basis thereof. The pouring machine can be moved to a proper position relative to the anticipated final position of the new pour cup/mold on the basis of this information. When the new cup is located in its definite position in the pouring station (when the ram has reached its forward end position), the sensing means is operable for ascertaining the actual position of the cup. The sensing means is also preferably used to sense and control the level of molten metal in the pour cup.
It is known that mold sand has a varying compressibility and that the lengths of the mold sections are dependent thereon. Naturally, the length of the mold sections can also vary between mutually sequential mold sections.